


Back in the Day

by SingingInTheRaiin



Category: The Magnus Archives (Podcast)
Genre: Amnesia, BAMF Getrude, Canon Ace Character, Gen, Jealousy, M/M, Nightmares, Time Travel, and up until mid season 2, brief mentions of historical homophobia, i did zero historical research, i may have messed up the timeline a bit, minor possessive behavior, oh well, spoilers for episode 160, takes place in the 1800s, the house on Hill Top Road has weird properties
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-08
Updated: 2019-12-08
Packaged: 2021-02-25 21:15:21
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,954
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21722083
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SingingInTheRaiin/pseuds/SingingInTheRaiin
Summary: Jonah Magnus once took in a young man with no memories, and gave him a name and a home. Two hundred years later, Elias is shocked to see a very familiar face enter his Institute.
Relationships: Elias Bouchard/Jonathan Sims, Jonathan Fanshawe/Jonah Magnus
Comments: 22
Kudos: 240





	Back in the Day

Jonah looked away from the conversation he was in the middle of when he heard shouting and a horse neighing loudly. It was easy to spot the problem, seeing as there was a man lying in the middle of the road, and a carriage pulled to an abrupt halt right by him. 

“Hm, what a shame. But we really must keep moving if we don’t want to be late to… Jonah? Jonah?”

Jonah ignored his father as he hurried towards the unmoving body. He wasn’t sure why he was so intrigued by the accident that had just occurred, but he knew that he felt as though he was being drawn towards the man in the road. 

The carriage driver had hurried to kneel down next to the fallen man, and after pressing his fingers to the man’s neck, he looked up at the gathering crowd with obvious despair. “It isn’t my fault,” the driver insisted. “He just appeared there! I swear the road was completely clear a minute ago!”

Jonah barely resisted to roll his eyes as he knelt down as well, not even bothered when the dirty slush on the ground soaked into his trousers. He gently rolled the victim onto his back, and looked at the young, peaceful face. He wasn’t even sure if he could call the victim a man, he looked so young. He reached down to the boy’s wrist to do his own pulse check, and found that even though it was so weak it was almost nonexistent, there was still a sign of life in the boy. “Was your carriage damaged?”

The driver looked at Jonah with the dazed look of someone who desperately hoped that somebody else would take charge of the situation. “Er- no. Martha’s a bit spooked, but other than that it should be fine.”

Jonah scooped up the unconscious boy. “Take us to the nearest doctor.”

“I don’t uh- I don’t-”

“I’ll give you directions,” Jonah snapped in annoyance. He got into the back of the empty carriage, carefully balancing the young man so that he would hopefully not be jostled too much during the ride. He shouted out directions through the partition until they reached the home of Dr. Fairns, and he hurried to bring the unconscious boy inside. 

The doctor didn’t act at all surprised to see Jonah, and instead just led him to his work room, where there were several empty beds. Jonah deposited the boy into one of them, and then was ushered out of the room before the doctor got to work.

Jonah still didn’t even know why he was so invested in seeing that boy get better. He’d already done more than enough by bringing him here before he could expire, so Jonah should really head out, and find his father to apologize for taking off so abruptly. And yet he found something in him begging him to stay where he was, so Jonah sank down into a nearby seat and resigned himself to wait. 

It was almost two hours later before Dr. Fairns emerged, wiping his bloody hands off on a towel. “Huh. You’re still here.”

“How is he?”

The doctor gave Jonah a long, searching look before he answered. “Hit his head pretty hard based on the lump I felt, but there’s no way of knowing how that will manifest until the lad wakes up. A couple of his ribs were broken, and one of them pierced his right lung. Had to cut him open to put his ribs in place and stitch up the lung, and his breathing seems easier now. If you hadn’t gotten to me as quickly as you did, he probably would have died. As it is, he should be alright, assuming his brain hasn’t been knocked around too much.”

Jonah wasn’t sure why that brought him such a huge sense of relief. “Do you know when he’ll wake?”

Dr. Fairns walked back into his workroom, and Jonah followed. “Poor thing woke up when I took the scalpel to him. Had to give him some of the poppy to put him under again. It should wear off in a couple of hours.” He discarded the bloody towel into a small bin, and then crossed his arms over his chest as he faced Jonah again. “So who is he? I’ve never seen you look so frantic before.”

That was the same question Jonah had been asking himself for the past couple of hours. “I don’t know. I was just walking to a meeting with my father, and the boy was hit by a carriage horse.”

The doctor sighed, and then stretched and shifted in a way that made all of his joints creak, and then he pulled off his apron. “I’m going to go take a nap. You can stay with the boy. Come get me when he wakes up.” Then he left, and Jonah pulled a chair over to sit down next to the boy’s bed.

Jonah dozed off at one point, but was woken up by a small pained groan. The boy tried to sit up, and Jonah gently pushed him back down. “You probably shouldn’t move around too much.”

“What happened?”

The voice was just a weak croak, but something about it sent a shiver through Jonah, and he didn’t understand it at all. He felt a strange hunger in him, hunger for knowledge about who the boy was, and why Jonah had been so drawn to him in the first place. Jonah cleared his throat. “You were in an accident, and I brought you to a doctor, who saved your life. I’m Jonah Magnus.”

There was a glazed look in the boy’s eyes. “That’s- I’m-” Then his eyes widened in alarm, and panic filled his words. “I don’t know who I am. Why don’t I know who I am?”

Jonah reached out to grab one of the boy’s arms to try and calm him down before he could cause himself further injury. “You need to stay calm. You hit your head when you fell, so I’m assuming that that’s what caused this memory loss. What’s the last thing you remember?”

There were a few seconds of silence broken only by the slight wheeze of the boy’s breathing, and he squeezed his eyes shut as he tried to think. When he opened his eyes again, there was a watery sheen to them. “I don’t know. I don’t think I can remember much of anything. I just woke up in here, and that’s it.”

“Well, you can remember how to speak, so that’s something, at least. Why don’t I go get the doctor so that he can-”

The boy reached out to grab Jonah’s sleeve. “Don’t go,” he begged quietly.

Jonah settled back into his seat. “Very well.” To keep the boy distracted, Jonah shared stories from his life, and the first time he got a startled laugh out of the boy, Jonah felt strangely victorious. 

Dr. Fairns eventually returned, looking grumpy. “I told you to get me when he woke.”

Jonah shrugged unapologetically. “He’s having some memory problems.”

The doctor frowned. “Hm.” He sent Jonah away so that he could do a thorough examination, and then emerged into the hall a few minutes later, closing the door behind him so that he could speak with Jonah in private. “I suppose I can keep him here a few days before sending him down to one of the workhouses. It will cost you extra, though.”

In that moment, Jonah realized that it had not even occurred to him that he would just pay the doctor and then be on his way. “That won’t be necessary. I will take him home with me.”

He did his best to ignore the amused gleam in the doctor’s eyes. “He’s injured and doesn’t even know his own name. He’s probably completely useless.”

“That will be my problem, not yours. How much for the treatment you’ve already given him?” 

They worked out a price, and then Jonah reluctantly agreed to have the boy stay for the night before moving him. When he went back into the workroom, the boy was already fast asleep, and Jonah had to refrain from letting out a fond smile. He was definitely going to figure out what was so special about this boy.

In the morning, Dr. Fairns did another check up on the boy, and then pulled Jonah aside to give him a wide-eyed look. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”

“What?”

The doctor glanced around, as if some unknown person might be trying to listen in, and then he answered. “Your boy is healing remarkably quickly. If I didn’t know for sure he’d just been injured yesterday, I would assume that he’s already been healing for two or three weeks.”

Before the doctor had a chance to ask if he could keep the boy around for observation, Jonah cut in. “How fascinating. Are you sure you didn’t have a bit too much brandy to put you to sleep last night? Now if you don’t mind, I’ll be taking the boy and leaving.”

For a moment he thought that Dr. Fairns might actually argue, but he just sighed and let his shoulders slump down. “Very well. And maybe someday you’ll even tell me the story here.”

“Perhaps.” Then Jonah went into the workroom, where the boy was already standing up and dressed. His clothes hadn’t been too badly damaged yesterday, though he didn’t look neatly put together, either. “Are you ready to go?”

The boy blinked a couple of times. “Wait, uh, you’re- you’re taking me with you?”

Jonah shrugged. “If you’d like. It seems as though you’re not sure where else you could go at the moment.”

“That’s true. Ah, alright then. And- thank you.” 

As they went outside to the carriage that Jonah had called for earlier, Jonah gave his new charge a brief glance. He did seem to be in much less pain than he had the previous day. “Have you remembered your name yet?” The boy frowned and shook his head. “Well, I need to call you something. How about… Jonathan?”  
,,,

As Elias headed towards the breakroom, he heard the soft giggling of Rosie. He walked over to her and the other woman she was standing with, a secretary named Joan. “Good afternoon, ladies. And what has caught your attention today?” 

Both women turned to him, and Rosie’s eyes widened for a moment before she relaxed. “Oh, Elias, hey. We were just talking about the new guy.”

“The new guy?” Elias, as head of the Institute, always liked to know precisely who was in the building, but he couldn’t recall any recent new hires. It wasn’t necessarily concerning, but it was a bit odd. 

Joan nodded. “Yeah, I think one of the archival assistants quit or something because no one’s seen him around in ages, and Gertrude transferred Ella to the basement, which meant that Miran needed a new researcher in her division. She’s been doing interviews all week, I’m surprised you didn’t hear about it.” 

Elias was surprised as well. He’d been so busy keeping an eye on Gertrude and her progress that he hadn’t bothered to look in on the other employees of the Institute. “Perhaps I should find him and introduce myself. Miran’s division, you said?”

“Yeah. He’s the cute one with the glasses,” Rosie told him with a soft giggle. Elias refrained from rolling his eyes at that description, and headed upstairs to one of the upper research floors. He walked through the bullpen, unbothered by the buzz of noise that came from everyone constantly taking calls, shouting across the room at each other, and running around to find specific information for their research. 

He found the desk that had only recently been occupied. There was still barely anything on it that was personal, and there was no one sitting there. One of the other researchers cleared her throat to get Elias’ attention. “Oh, are you looking for Jon? I think he said he was heading down the archives a little while ago, so he should be back soon.”

“Unless he gets lost again,” someone else butted in. 

Elias arched one eyebrow. “Lost? The Institute may be a place containing a great deal of knowledge, but it hardly has a confusing layout.”

The first woman laughed. “Oh, not like, physically lost. It’s just that this is only Jon’s second day and he’s already managed to fall behind. Once he finds something interesting, he just refuses to put it down until he’s learned everything he can about it. I’m sure he’ll pull his act together, though,” she added quickly. “I’m not saying he needs to be fired or anything. He’s just young.”

Elias nodded. “That’s quite alright, I understand.” Most of the people hired to work at the Institute were ones who would be of the most interest to the Eye, and someone who was so eager to learn sounded like he fell right into that category. But strangely, when Elias tried to look down in the archives, he couldn’t See this new employee. Curiouser and curiouser. 

Elias decided to head down to the basement to find this new employee for himself. He walked past Gertrude’s office, which was currently empty as she was off on one of her many trips. She’d certainly never had any problem taking advantage of the Institute paying her expenses.

Then he went to the file room, since that seemed like the most likely place to find a curious young worker. He poked his head in, and saw the back of a crisply pressed white shirt, and neatly slicked back hair that curled up the slightest bit at the nape. He cleared his throat, and the startled man turned around. Elias already had an amused chuckle prepared, but it dried up the moment he saw the man’s face. “Jonathan?”  
,,,

Jonathan crossed his arms over his chest and did his best to pout, though the effect was lost somewhat because of the way that he couldn’t restrain his smile. “I don’t understand why I can’t have the same last name as you.”

Jonah sighed. “We’ve been over this. Nobody will think twice about me hiring on another worker around the house, but you’re too old and I’m too young for me to possibly believably adopt you. And my family is known well enough that a sudden long-lost relative would raise too many doubts.”

“But Fanshawe? That doesn’t even sound like a real name.”

It was strange how Jonathan’s whining managed to sound almost endearing. “And how would you know?” 

No offense was taken by the question, and Jonathan dropped his arms. “Fine. I’m sure that my hero and savior knows more about the world than a lowly amnesiac ever could.” Then he tilted his head to the side, making it very difficult for Jonah to contain his laughter at the sight of wild hair that stuck up all over the place. “So what exactly am I going to do, if I work for you now?”

“You’ll not be doing anything until you’re fully healed,” Jonah reminded him.

The idea of lying in bed and resting for a few weeks clearly didn’t sit well with Jonathan. “Come on, I feel fine. Basically no pain at all. Surely there’s something you can trust me to do.”

The word ‘trust’ caught Jonah’s attention very quickly, though Jonathan seemed entirely unaware of why that would be such a strange thing to say. Jonah was supposed to just trust a boy he’d only known for two days? On the other hand, if Jonathan truly didn’t remember anything of his life at all, then he really had no choice but to trust that Jonah would look out for him as promised. 

Regardless, it was rather apparent that even if Jonah didn’t assign any tasks, Jonathan would refuse to stay still, and would probably only end up hurting himself. “Very well. I’ll teach you the letters, and then you can organize some papers for me.”

Jonathan looked confused for a moment before he shook his head. “Letters? No, I don’t- I’m pretty sure that I can already read.”

Jonah thought about the clothes Jonathan had been wearing when he’d been hit by that horse. They had not been the clothes of a wealthy man. Jonah grabbed the nearest written thing off his desk, which turned out to be a letter. He held it out to Jonathan. “Prove it.” If Jonathan was offended, he didn’t let on at all. In fact, it seemed as though the boy was simply impossible to offend. He simply accepted the piece of paper and looked down at it. His eyes moved back and forth as he scanned over the words, but he did not read any of it aloud. Jonah did his best to keep his voice gentle. “If you can’t-”

“It’s not that,” Jonathan interrupted immediately. “I can read, I know I can, just like I know that I’m a man, and a human being, and I can speak and listen. I can read, but there’s something… this doesn’t look right. The words are… fuzzy.” He sounded so defensive that Jonah couldn’t find it within himself to argue. 

Then inspiration struck, and he rummaged through a drawer to find an old pair of his father’s reading glasses. He held out his prize with enthusiasm. “Try this.”

Jonathan put the glasses on, and Jonah wasn’t sure why the sight of the too-large frames sliding down the boy’s nose seemed so endearing. Then his attention was grabbed by Jonathan reading to him from the letter. His voice was confident, and he stumbled a few times, but he made it all the way through, and then gave Jonah a smug look. “See? I told you.” He reached up to pull off the glasses, and inspected them thoroughly. “These did make it better, but not perfect. And I think they may have given me a headache.”

“I wouldn’t worry about it too much. Different people have different requirements for their visual aids. We’ll get you a pair better suited to you. And then you can help me with a bit more than just organizing. But not too much. No matter how fast you think you’re healing, I will not have you overexerting yourself and dying on my watch.”

Jonathan gave Jonah a curious look as he twirled the glasses around by one stem. “Why do you care so much? I mean don’t get me wrong, I’m grateful that you’re helping me out and all, but what’s in it for you? I’m sure you could easily hire more qualified assistants.”

Jonah returned the intense stare, until Jonathan’s cheeks pinkened slightly and he broke contact. “I get the feeling that you are much more than an assistant, Jonathan. I may not know you much yet, but I know that much at least.”  
,,,

Elias continued to stare at the new employee, even as an unfamiliar frown stretched down on the otherwise very familiar face. “Yes? And who are you?”

Elias blinked a couple of times. Of course Jon wouldn’t recognize him, not when he looked like this. He opened his mouth to just spill out one of the many secrets that Gertrude had been trying to extract from him for years. But then he felt a subtle pull in his mind, and he Knew that the man in front of him would have no idea who he was even if he were to look the same as he used to. 

But there was no way Elias was mistaken. If someone like Simon Fairchild could exist, then why couldn’t Jonathan still be alive after all these years? It’s not as though a body was ever found. And this man had responded to the name Jon. Elias was far too old to believe that such a thing could be a coincidence. 

He couldn’t say anything of that, though. Several awkward seconds of silence had already passed, and if Elias wanted any chance at convincing Jon to let him close, he would need to not come across as a creep in their first meeting. He held out his hand, and was able to smooth his voice out into its usual pleasant cadence. “Elias Bouchard. Head of this Institute. When I heard that there was a new researcher, I thought that I would introduce myself.”

Jon gave Elias a dubious look, and the fact that Elias hadn’t been able to pull himself together quickly enough to avoid suspicion seemed rather telling of his mental state. He couldn’t let all of his plans that had stretched across so many lifetimes fall apart just because of Jon. There were far more important things at stake. “...Right. Well, I should be getting back to my research.” He let out a sigh before adding, “It was nice to meet you,” in a way that felt like he’d had to forcibly drag the words out of his mouth. As Elias watched Jon leave, he couldn’t tell whether he was incredibly lucky, or incredibly cursed.  
,,,

Jonah returned from his trip, still reeling from the things he had learned. He felt as though there was an entire separate world out there that he had never noticed, but now that he was aware of it, he was eager to devour everything about it. 

He paused when he walked into his bedroom and saw Jonathan curled up in his bed. He slowly walked over, and considered waking the young man up to send him back to his own room, but Jonathan looked so peaceful, Jonah decided to just let it be for now. He would certainly ask in the morning why Jonathan had chosen to sleep in Jonah’s room, though.

Despite the many horrific things he had learned about, Jonah found that he slept through the night without a single bad dream. In fact, his dreams ended up being the opposite of nightmares, and he found he was strangely disappointed when he woke up to an empty bed.

Jonah went down to the kitchen, and saw Jonathan sipping absent-mindedly at a cup of tea as his eyes remained glued to the pages of the book he was reading. Jonah cleared his throat, and Jonathan slowly looked up, and he seemed to be slightly dazed. When he saw Jonah standing there, his eyes cleared up, and his cheeks went slightly pink. “Oh- uh, Jonah. You uh, you got back sooner than I expected.”

Jonah crossed his arms over his chest and didn’t bother to hide the amusement in his voice. “You mean to tell me that you would not have been in my bed if you knew I would be in it as well?” Watching the pink flush grow darker was strangely satisfying. 

Jonathan quickly shook his head. “No, I swear, I just…” he trailed off, and shifted so that he was looking at the wall behind Jonah instead of at Jonah’s eyes. “I suppose I may as well just admit that I often sleep in your bed when you are not home for more than a couple of nights in a row. It keeps away the nightmares.”

The amusement of the situation faded away somewhat, and Jonah dropped his arms down. “Nightmares? You’ve never mentioned having them.”

There was a brief moment of silence before Jonathan responded, still not meeting Jonah’s gaze. “They only seem to occur when you are not around. And then they are- well. The first time I had them was probably a couple of years ago, sometime after I’d first moved in. I woke up poor Mr. Ratherman with all my screaming. I was afraid to go back to sleep so I went into your room to borrow one of your books, and as soon as I went in, I just felt better. I can’t explain it. Ever since then, when you go on your longer trips, I spend the nights in your room. I’m sorry I never asked or- well I’m sorry.”

There was a strange aching in Jonah’s chest at the idea of Jonathan suffering such terrible nightmares without Jonah ever knowing about it. And he felt some anger, not directed towards Jonathan but towards himself. Even if there was no way he could have known, he couldn’t help feeling as though he should have known anyways. “It’s alright. You’re welcome to my bed whenever you need it.” He immediately wanted to take the words back and figure out a different way to say it, but Jonathan seemed unaware of how that could be taken. 

The kettle was still hot, so Jonah made some tea for himself, and then settled down at the table next to Jonathan. “Tell me about your dreams.” He knew that he probably sounded too demanding, but Jonathan didn’t seem bothered by that. Still, he added a soft, “Please,” for posterity. 

Jonathan folded down the corner of the page he was on (even though he knew how much Jonah hated that), and set the book down on the table. “I once read somewhere that the dreams of an amnesiac are their brain’s way of showing them what they’ve forgotten, but I desperately hope that that is not the case. I dream of such terrible things, Jonah. I dream of a world devoured by darkness, and people who bleed insects instead of blood, and monsters and demons and insanity and hunters, and people who are torn apart and people who don’t look like people, and deadly traps, and great fires, and, and-”

Jonah held out his hand to stop Jonathan as his words grew more frantic and panicked. “It’s alright. They’re only-” he cut himself off abruptly. How could he truthfully say that they were only dreams when he’d so recently learned about just how many terribly powerful things there were in the world? Though if those dreams were somehow memories, then Jonah was at a loss as to how Jonathan could have seen signs of so many of the entities and lived to tell about them. That wasn’t important at the moment, though. Jonah slid his chair closer to Jonathan’s, and gently rested his hand on the other man’s arm. “You are safe here. I will teach you how to protect yourself from any monsters you might encounter.”

Jonathan took a few deep breaths before looking up at Jonah. “But they’re just dreams.”

There was only a moment of hesitation before Jonah shifted so that he was resting his hand on top of Jonathan’s. “Maybe they are. But even if that’s true, they are far closer to reality that you had imagined. I told you that I was going to visit with a friend, a man named Robert Smirke. I’ve told you of him before, have I not? He taught me about how much bigger the world is than I thought. And now I will teach you.”

“Why?”

Jonah paused for a moment, taken aback by the question. Though Jonathan could be stubborn at times, for the most part he listened to Jonah without any questions. “Because the only way to stay safe is to know what you are staying safe from.”

Jonathan sighed, and looked at the table again. “I’m not so sure I want to know. But fine, tell me.”  
,,,

Gertrude barged into Elias’ office as if she had every right to, just as she always did. “I need a new assistant,” she announced.

Elias sighed. “You do know that they’re not one time use only, right?”

She just carried on like he hadn’t said anything. “There’s a researcher, Jonathan Sims, and I want to transfer him down to the archives, but his supervisor is refusing to let me.”

Elias made sure not to react to the name. “There are plenty of talented researchers employed here that I’m sure could-”

“I want Sims,” Gertrude said in the tone of a woman who was used to getting what she wanted.

That’s what really caught Elias’ attention. He’d been keeping an eye on Jon for the past six months out of personal interest, and it was clear that research was not his strong suit. And now that he thought about it, Elias wasn’t sure why Miran had hired Jon, and was now apparently hoarding him even as Gertrude insisted that she wanted him. There was clearly something else going on here, because neither woman could possibly want him for his research skills. “Why?”

Gertrude didn’t answer immediately, and Elias finally looked up from the report he’d been in the middle of writing. He raised one eyebrow as he waited for her to answer the simple question. “You’re right. Like you said, there’s plenty of other assistants in the sea, so to speak.”

Elias narrowed his eyes, and wondered if he needed to stand up so that he could tower over Gertrude and intimidate her a little bit. Then again, he wasn’t sure if there was actually any force in this world capable of intimidating Gertrude, and decided that he would probably make less of a fool of himself if he didn’t even make an attempt. He just stared at Gertrude with rare undisguised curiosity, and wondered how it was possible that she could be up to something he had no idea about. Something that involved Jon, specifically. “What’s so special about Jonathan Sims?”

Gertrude gave Elias a harsh frown that probably would have scared any lesser beings away. “I was mistaken. I will go find an assistant from one of the other divisions.” Then she stormed out of the office as abruptly as she’d come in, and Elias was left to wonder. Of course he knew why Jon was important to him, but what did Gertrude know?  
,,,

Jonah gave Jonathan a dubious look. “A doctor? Really?”

Jonathan nodded, and that usual stubborn look of his was written clearly across his face. “Yes. You refuse to bring me along on your trips, so this is the next best thing. Every time that you go out there, you’re facing forces that are beyond our understanding. It would be so easy for you to get hurt. If I knew medicine, though, I’d be able to help you. Please, Jonah. I just want to be able to help you. You’ve always told me that I’m an intelligent man, so let me use that for you.”

Jonah took a deep breath in, then slowly let it out. He couldn’t deny that the prospect of Jonathan doing anything solely for Jonah’s sake was… appealing, to say the least. But becoming a doctor would take years of learning, even for someone as smart as Jonathan, and Jonah was too selfish to let go of his friend for that long.

He opened his mouth to reject the idea, when Jonathan lunged forward and grabbed Jonah’s jacket, yanking him down into a brief, yet thoroughly enjoyable, kiss. When Jonathan let go and took a step back, there was an embarrassed look on his face, and he didn’t meet Jonah’s eyes. “I just want to protect you,” he mumbled.

It took Jonah a moment before he could actually react, and then he reached out to gently take both of Jonathan’s hands in his. “You don’t owe me anything, you know. If you feel very grateful because of the fact that I took you in-”

Jonathan quickly shook his head. “That’s not it. I mean, you’ve certainly done more than just ‘take me in’, but this isn’t about gratitude. This is about- that is to say-” He took in a deep breath, and then spoke quickly, all while refusing to meet Jonah’s eyes. “I want to keep you safe because I care about you. And that’s why I want to- that’s why I just did that.” 

Jonah thought of the next trip that he planned to take. He and Robert were going to start solidifying their plans to stop a ritual for one of the entities. It could take a while, and it was definitely going to be dangerous. And since Jonathan could hardly sleep without Jonah around, it seemed more productive to give him something to actually work on.

So even though he felt a great amount of reluctance to do so, Jonah gave in. “Very well. Dr. Fairns is getting older and he has not taken on an apprentice yet. I’ll see what I can do to convince him to take you.”

The giant grin that spread across Jonathan’s face felt like immediate gratification for something hadn’t even done yet, and he wondered what was wrong with him that he let himself get led around so easily by Jonathan. But in the end, he found that he took pleasure in making Jonathan happy. And it had been so difficult to do that lately, what with Jonah constantly being out and about to work with his colleagues on stopping the end of the world from coming about. “Thank you, thank you, thank you.”

Jonah laughed at Jonathan’s enthusiasm. He couldn’t remember the last time the young man had gotten so excited about anything. “Do I get a reward for this kind and generous act?”

There was a brief pause, and then Jonathan’s face was covered in a blush. “I uh- if you want to- I can-” Then he leaned forward to give Jonah another brief kiss. Jonah immediately wrapped his arms around Jonathan, preventing the man from getting away. Of course this was something that could never happen outside of this house, and it would be impossible to ever formally acknowledge such a relationship. But Jonah couldn’t find it within himself to care at the moment. Not when he was being offered something that he wanted.  
,,,

As Elias looked down at Gertrude’s body, he felt the slightest pang of guilt. Not at the fact that she was dead- she had been trying to burn down the archives after all- but at the fact that she had so much potential, and now it was wasted. Then again, if she hadn’t reached her full potential after so many years as the Archivist, then maybe it just meant that it hadn’t been meant to be.

Elias carefully and efficiently brought Gertrude’s body down into the tunnels, not wanting anyone to get too suspicious about what had happened. He already knew exactly who he would take on as the new Archivist, and he couldn’t afford for Jon to get scared away by the knowledge that Gertrude had been murdered. 

He cleaned up everything, messed around with the security tapes to ensure that there was no evidence of his misdeeds, and then returned to his office to take a short break. Even someone as strong as he was could feel the exhaustion that came after the long struggle that Gertrude had put up. He had to admit that she had been surprisingly strong and spry considering her old age. 

Two weeks later, Elias strolled through the halls of the Institute in a crisp new suit, not showing any sign of what had happened down in the archives. He went straight to the research division he was looking for, and walked over to Jon’s desk. He may have only exchanged a handful of words with Jon over the past four years, but Elias had still kept a close eye on the man. Or at least as close as he could considering that he couldn’t directly Watch Jon. 

He cleared his throat, and Jon looked up from a paper he’d been scanning, an achingly familiar crabby look on his face. Elias remembered how much Jon had always hated being torn away from his reading when he’d finally managed to find something good- especially since he’d always been so picky about what he would actually entertain him. 

Jon blinked a few times, the way he always did when he slowly returned to reality from whatever he’d gotten invested in, and then he scowled slightly. “Elias, to what do I owe the honor?”

“I’m sure you’ve heard by now that Gertrude Robinson has been declared dead?”

Jon narrowed his eyes. “Yes, it’s a real tragedy. I only met her a few times, but she seemed like an impressive woman.”

Maybe it was a bad idea, creating an avatar of the Eye out of someone who could not be Watched, but it was too late to back down now. Gertrude was gone, and there was certainly no one else in the Institute who Elias could see as being a suitable replacement. “I’m here to offer you a promotion. The position of Head Archivist is vacant, and I believe that you would be a good fit for the job.”

There was a pause as Jon took that in, and then he gave a slight shake of his head. “Oh. Oh- thank you for the offer, but I don’t think that that would be such a good idea. I’m rather content with where I am now. I’ve already gotten used to how everything works up here.”

Ah, and there was the Jon Elias knew and l- that Elias knew. Always capable of surprising him, even now that Elias was able to Know more than most people could ever dream of. This was certainly not the outcome he had expected. “Perhaps you are not aware of the raise that would accompany such a promotion-”

Jon shook his head. “Honestly, I’m happy with where I am now.”

Elias nodded shortly, not really sure what to say. He couldn’t just stand around begging Jon to accept the position. “I see.” He turned and left to head back to his own office, though he hesitated to sit down at his desk. Did Jon know something about what it truly meant to be the Archivist? Is that why he refused the role? He had to know for sure.

He couldn’t See Jon directly, but it’s not as though Jon was blocked completely. It was easy enough to look in on the others around Jon to get an idea of what Jon was doing. It didn’t take long to find someone who went to the break room at the same time Jon did.

The other researcher, a man named David, gave Jon a curious look. “Did I hear you right back there? You just got offered Head Archivist and you turned it down? Why on earth would you do that?”

Jon sighed as he stirred his tea. “Honestly? I hate the archives. Not that they exist or the information in them, but the fact that there archives are in the basement. There’s all kinds of spiders down there.”

David laughed. “Do you mean to tell me that you turned down a massive promotion because you’re scared of spiders?”

“I’m not scared of them,” Jon was quick to snap. “I just don’t like them, is all.” 

Elias leaned back in his seat and stopped Looking, having heard all he needed to. Was Jon already marked by the Web? But why wouldn’t Elias have sensed that? And did that have anything to do with why Elias couldn’t See Jon? Still, though, Elias found that it was a great weight off his chest that Jon hadn’t turned down the offer out of any malice or information about what had happened to Gertrude, because that could have caused problems. 

Maybe it was just Elias foolishly chasing after a sign of the past that he needed to let go of, but he found that he couldn’t stand the idea of giving anyone else the job that was already Jon’s, at least in Elias’ mind. So he grabbed his phone and called the nearest exterminator. If getting rid of a few pesky arachnids would change Jon’s mind, then Elias could take care of that easily enough. And then Jon would be his Archivist, the way he’d once been his… something else.  
,,,

Jonah was strangely disappointed when he came home and found his bed empty. And the sheets were still cold, which meant that if Jonathan had slept there at all, he must have gotten up hours ago. He didn’t bother checking the servant’s quarters since Jonathan hadn’t slept down there in several years now, and there were no servants left in the household. 

He did check the library, though that was empty as well. He turned to leave, and that’s when he spotted a piece of paper pinned to the back of the library door. ‘With Fairns until 22nd -J’ Jonah took down the paper, and headed back outside. His carriage had already taken off, but it was a rather nice day out, so he decided that it would be alright to go for a bit of a stroll.

Jonah reached the doctor’s house, and rapped against the front door, suddenly impatient to see Jonathan again. It took a minute, but then the door creaked open and Jonathan was standing there, cheeks rosy from exertion and a blood-splattered apron hanging down his front. His eyes widened when he saw Jonah, and he grinned. “What are you doing here?”

“Would you believe me if I said I missed you?”

Jonathan laughed. “Not if you say it like that!” He pulled Jonah into the house and shut the front door behind him before leaning up to give Jonah a quick kiss. “We’re just in the middle of a surgery at the moment. Would you mind waiting in the sitting room?”

“As you wish, Dr. Fanshawe.”

Jonathan snorted. “I’m not a doctor yet, but I appreciate your confidence in me. I’ll be back out in a bit.” Then he disappeared into the workroom, with the door closed behind him. Jonah sat around for about an hour before Jonathan emerged again, looking freshly scrubbed. He gave Jonah a brief hug before taking a step back. “I know I left a note in case you got back early, but I wasn’t expecting you to be back quite this soon. I thought you said May?”

Jonah shrugged. “Our business concluded faster than I had anticipated.”

“And?”

“All went well,” Jonah assured him. “The world is not ending tomorrow.” He kept his voice light, not ready to share the full truth with Jonathan until they were in the safety of their own home. Not that anywhere could ever truly be safe, but it still felt as though it was. “Can I convince you to come back with me tonight?”

“Not if you want him to be a doctor anytime soon,” Fairns interrupted in a creaky voice. “You’d best be on your way before you distract the boy any further.”

Jonathan rolled his eyes. “I’m hardly a boy.” They could never be sure of Jonathan’s exact age, but he had looked barely out of his teens when they’d first met, and it had been less than a decade since then. Even now, Jonathan looked very young. “He’s right about you being a distraction though. I’ll be home in a week, I promise.” He held his hand out for Jonah to shake, always cognizant of the front they had to put up when they were around other people. 

The rest of the week seemed to pass by impossibly slowly, though Jonah was able to at least refrain from going back to Fairns’ place. When Jonathan finally got home, Jonah pulled him in for a long kiss. “It’s so rare that I’m the one who has to wait. It’s not fun at all.”

“Now you know how I always feel,” Jonathan told him with a laugh. They settled down in the library with some tea, and Jonathan gave Jonah a long look. “Tell me about your trip?”

Jonah sighed, and even though he’d had an entire week to prepare himself, he still felt as though he didn’t have any of the right words to say. “You know, of course, that I have long been working with the others to prevent the rituals that the other entities would use to destroy the world. I believe that at this point, it is clear that it will not work forever. So Robert and I have laid out the plans to create a focal point for- for the Watcher’s Crown.” Of course, Robert wasn’t aware of the purpose of Millbank, but that seemed irrelevant at the moment. 

Jonathan’s eyes widened, and he leaned slightly away from Jonah, which hurt more than Jonah cared to admit. “You can’t! Jonah, you can’t do that! Swear to me that you won’t-!” Jonah reached out to take Jonathan’s hand, but Jonathan leapt to his feet, not caring that he dropped his tea to the floor and his favorite tea cup broke into pieces. “Jonah, if you insist on going through with this, then I’m leaving.”

Of all the reactions Jonah had anticipated, this was not one of them. He got to his feet as well, and looked at Jonathan in shock. “Why?” he demanded.

“Because it’s wrong. You have to know that it’s wrong. Please, Jonah.”

And for the first time that Jonah could remember, he lied right to Jonathan’s face. “I’ll stop it. I need you more than I need power.” He reached out again, and this time Jonathan let himself be pulled into the embrace, though he did not return it. And Jonah resolved to himself that he would no longer tell Jonathan of the things that he did on his trips, because he could not risk losing him. He wouldn’t lose Jonathan to the end of the world either, though, which is why Jonah needed to keep moving forward with his plans. It was all for Jonathan, or at least that’s what he tried to convince himself of.  
,,,

Elias knew that it would probably come across as creepy if he actually accompanied Jon down to his new office, but he couldn’t help feeling the urge to do so anyways. And it felt like he had not indulged in his own desires in so very long, so Elias decided that he was going to do it.

It didn’t escape his notice that Jon’s eyes flicked up into every ceiling corner, clearly on the lookout for spiders. Elias really wanted to know what the story was behind Jon’s dislike of the creatures, but he knew that it was not something he would be able to find out for quite a while. 

Once Elias finished giving Jon a complete tour of the basement, they looped back to where the Head Archivist’s office was located. There was a mini bullpen in front of the office, containing just four desks. “The budget allows for you to chose three archival assistants. Just send them my way within the next two weeks so that I can make sure they get all their paperwork squared away. So? What do you think?” It was a struggle to keep the eagerness out of his voice, and maintain his professional boundaries. 

Jon glanced around the empty office, and then looked back at Elias. “I suppose that it will do. Now if you don’t mind, I think I’d like to get to work right away. Even that brief glance into the file room has made it abundantly clear that my predecessor did not care at all about proper organization. There’s clearly a lot to be done here.”

“Of course, of course. Well, you know where my office is if you need anything.” As he retreated, Elias could only hope that Jon would pick his new assistants soon, so that Elias would have eyes in the basement again. He wanted to trust Jon not to end up like Gertrude, but it isn’t as though their past said much in Jon’s defense.  
,,,

Jonah turned back to Jonathan with a big grin. “Well? What do you think?”

Jonathan turned in a slow circle as he took in every detail of the large lobby, with the fancy cavernous ceiling. The second and third floors were both smaller than the ground, and could be seen over railings. “I can’t believe I doubted you’d be able to get this place built the way that you described it. It looks gorgeous, Jonah.”

There was a warm feeling in Jonah’s chest that came from the praise. “I even set aside a small office for you. Afterall, if this place is going to be dedicated to documenting the supernatural, then you’ll need your own space to talk about the things you see on your travels.” Ever since Jonathan had been declared officially a doctor, he had made it his job to travel all around and treat people who had been hurt or traumatized by their encounters with the supernatural. 

Jonathan looked surprised, though. “That really isn’t necessary-”

“Maybe not, but I wanted to do it. So I think we can keep a large library on the second floor, and that’s where most of the researchers can go. Upper management offices will be on the third floor- that’s where you and I and a few others will be. The basement can be used for storage. It’s a large space, but not terribly welcome or comfortable.”

Jonathan leaned over to give Jonah a peck on the cheek before he pulled away to continue looking around. “This is just incredible, Jonah. And of course, it’s much safer. Having people come to you instead of you going all around to where any number of dangerous situations could arise.”

Jonah arched one eyebrow as he gave Jonathan a pointed look. “Does that mean you will stay here permanently as well?”

Jonathan laughed as he shook his head. “You know that I can’t do that. I became a doctor to help people.”

“I thought you became a doctor to help me.”

Jonathan rolled his eyes at the almost petulant tone to Jonah’s voice, and then gave Jonah a long kiss. “I’ll still come back often. To drop of my statements of course.”

“Of course.” Jonah wanted Jonathan around more often, though he could admit to himself that it was probably easier to have Jonathan out of the way. It would leave him more time to watch over Millbank, which had only been growing stronger with the stink of despair of the past few years. “But surely I can at least convince you to stay for a few days?”

Jonathan tilted his head to the side and pursed his lips together as he pretended to think about it, and then he finally laughed and nodded. “I suppose a few days can’t hurt,” he said, as if he hadn’t already been planning on sticking around for a little while. At least until Jonah’s Institute was fully up and running. Then Jonathan jammed his hand into Jonah’s. “Now give me the grand tour.” Jonah didn’t think he’d ever be able to forget the beautiful grin that decorated Jonathan’s face.  
,,,

The first time a tape recorder appeared on Elias’ desk, he couldn’t help thinking that it was quite odd indeed. Such a useless piece of technology compared to the things that had come later. He hadn’t even realized that there were any tape recorders in the Institute. 

Out of curiosity, Elias pressed play, and heard Jon’s voice come out of the small speaker. Apparently he was quite frustrated with Gertrude’s lack of organization, and with the fact that the statement he was reading refused to be digitally recorded. He also mentioned how useless Martin was, though there was a certain level of almost-fondness in his voice that made Elias irrationally jealous.

After he listened to the entire statement, Elias decided that it sounded like something that could be real, regardless of how easily Jon had discarded it as the hallucinations of a drunken mind. How had Jon been working here for four years already and still not believe in the supernatural? It was truly mind-boggling. Perhaps if Jon had seen the way that the recorder appeared in Elias’ office, he would change his views. As it was, though, Elias knew that he would just need to be patient, and let Jon work his way into the role of Archivist on his own.

Months passed with Elias having hardly any real contact with Jon, forced to rely on Seeing him through others, the way he had for years now. Then Jon barged into Elias’ office, looking rather alarmed. “Martin is going to be staying in the archives for now,” he announced. 

Elias blinked a couple of times, and then had to fight to keep himself from scowling. “Is that so?” The only place suitable for staying in the archives was the cot that Jon had set up for his late nights (of which there were far too many), and Elias found that he did not at all like the idea of Martin sleeping in Jon’s bed. “And why is one of my employees going to be treating this place of research and knowledge like a bed and breakfast?”

Jon sighed, and crossed his arms over his chest. “He was attacked by Jane Prentiss. Surely the name rings a bell? I haven’t been able to find her statement yet, thanks to the mess that Gertrude left behind for me, but I remember enough to know that she’s very dangerous. Martin will be safer here.” 

“The Institute is not any safer than a hotel would be,” at least not for anyone who wasn’t Jon. “If he truly believes that his life is in danger, would it not be better to put him up somewhere so that he can at least be comfortable.”

Jon narrowed his eyes, and looked at Elias with one of those searching looks that always seemed as though they were trying to drag all of Elias’ secrets right out of his head. “Why don’t you want him here?”

“Because he isn’t-” Elias started to answer, and then he realized that Jon had just unintentionally compelled him, and he had to wave aside the influence that came with the question. He also hid the shiver of pleasure that ran through him at the idea of Jon growing into his power, even if it had only been an accidental use. “He isn’t going to feel safe down in a musty old basement. And he will only serve as a distraction to the work going on in the archives.”

There was a very long moment of silence, and Elias truly couldn’t guess whether Jon would try and push the issue or not. It depended on how much Jon cared about Martin, and Elias could only hope that the answer would be ‘not too much’. Then Jon sighed, and his shoulders slumped down. “The Institute will cover the costs of a hotel? It’s not as though he thought to grab his wallet before running for his life.”

“Of course. Was there anything else?”

Jon continued to stare at Elias, and even though Elias had spent years thriving under the watchful Eye, he found that there was something quite different about the way it felt when it was Jon doing the watching. “No. No, that was all.” It wasn’t until Jon had already left the office that Elias realized he hadn’t seen Jon blink once during that entire conversation.  
,,,

“Albrecht von Closen?” Jonathan repeated in a doubtful voice. “Surely there must be doctors that live closer.”

Jonah shrugged. “None that I could possibly trust so much as I trust you.” Truthfully he just needed to make sure that Jonathan wouldn’t be around for a while, so that there would be enough time to focus more thoroughly on Millbank. Since it was the Eye that plagued von Closen, Jonah found it reasonable to assume that Jonathan would be just fine out there. He wasn’t sure quite why, but Jonah had noticed the very clear pattern that came from the Eye looking out for Jonathan as often as Jonah himself did.

Jonathan sighed, and then draped his arms loosely around the back of Jonah’s neck. “I’m going to miss you. Depending on how bad his illness is, I could be gone for several months.”

Jonah leaned slightly down so that his forehead was pressed against Jonathan’s. “I will miss you as well, of course. But Albrecht is an old friend, and I need you to do this for me.” 

Sending Jonathan away was difficult, but necessary. And at least instead of traveling all over the place, Jonathan would be in a single location once he reached the von Closen estate, which meant that they would be able to exchange letters, so hopefully neither of them would suffer from too much loneliness. Jonah was sure that the Lukas’ would just love that. 

Jonah got lost in his own goals, and it didn’t occur to him that anything was wrong until someone came to the Institute to find him. “Are you Jonah Magnus?”

Jonah gave the young lady a searching look. “That would be me. And may I ask who you are?”

“My name is Emily Wellsworth. I believe that you were friends with my father, Henry Fairns? I’m here because my father passed away two days ago, and he left a letter for Dr. Fanshawe. I’ve asked around, and I was told that the doctor is not around at the moment, but that you could take the letter for him.”

Jonah blinked at the news of Dr. Fairns’ death. He had been getting quite old, but Jonah had not seen the doctor since Jonathan had finished his training. It had been unnecessary, since Jonathan was very talented at what he did. “Yes, I will make sure that he receives it.” Jonah accepted the letter that the young woman held out, and he glanced at the shaky writing on the back of it. “I’m sorry, is this date correct?”

Emily nodded. “Yes sir. Is there a problem?” 

Jonah shook his head. “No, no problem. Thank you for delivering this. And I am sorry for your loss.” 

The woman left, and Jonah continued to stare down at the envelope. How had he not noticed that it had been seven months since he’d last heard from Jonathan? What if something had happened, and Jonah had been too busy working on the ritual to realize it? It had been a mistake to send Jonathan so far away. 

He rushed home from the Institute to pack a bag, and made his way to von Closen’s as quickly as possible. It still took him far longer than he wanted to actually reach his destination. He found himself walking through a partially open door, and a thorough search revealed the house and grounds to be entirely empty. 

Jonah went into town to ask around, and finally found someone useful. The postmaster dug through a small pile and pulled out an envelope. “Yes, the doctor left this to be delivered, but the address got smudged and he left before I could ask him about it. I couldn’t send out mail with no address on it, but he seemed to think it was important, so I thought I would hold onto it.”

Jonah snatched the letter impatiently, and tore it open. His eyes scanned over the devastating words as horrors were described, and Jonathan asked that Jonah never try to speak with him again. Jonah’s heart sank lower and lower, until he reached the bottom. The signature, like the rest of the handwriting, was a perfect match to Jonathan’s- except for one thing. In private correspondence between Jonah and Jonathan, Jonathan always, without fail, signed his last name as Magnus. 

It was a tradition that had started many years ago, when Jonathan had complained that they could not get married, and Jonah told him that a piece of paper did not matter to their relationship, and that they already acted like a married couple. After that, Jonathan signed ‘Jonathan Magnus’ when writing directly to Jonah. But the signature at the bottom of the crushing letter clearly read ‘Jonathan Fanshawe’. 

Someone had written this letter with the intention of keeping Jonah away from Jonathan. But that someone had not been his Jonathan.  
,,,

It was bad enough that Jon was so paranoid in the wake of the Jane Prentiss attack, but it was so much worse because of the fact that Elias was clearly on Jon’s list of suspects. Of course, Jon was right to doubt him, since he had been the one to kill Gertrude, but that didn’t stop it from hurting. There had been a time where Jonathan would believe anything Elias told him. Though perhaps it was all a part of growing up, learning to trust or distrust on his own.

At least Jon was no longer worrying and fawning over Martin. That behavior had gotten on Elias’ nerves far quicker than he cared to think about. But it was a small victory in the wake of everything else. Even though Elias knew from the start that he’d need Jon to be marked by all of the entities, that didn’t stop it from hurting to see the pain Jon had been caused by those disgusting worms. 

But Elias just knew that it couldn’t be a coincidence that Jon had entered his life (or re-entered, perhaps?) right at a time when he would be needed most. And the fact that Elias couldn’t See Jon also leant credibility to the theory that something about Jon was special. If anyone could be the lynchpin to the ritual Elias had in mind, it was Jon. 

As Elias contemplated how he might go about getting Jon to trust him again, the man himself knocked on the office door before stepping inside uninvited. He had dark bags under his eyes, his wounds looked irritated like they had been picked at, and he had a manic energy about him. In short: he did not look well at all. “Is there something you needed?”

Jon crossed his arms over his chest, and cleared his throat. “I- I need to tell you something.” He didn’t make any move to come closer to Elias’ desk, or to close the door behind him. Luckily, very few people ever passed by the third floor, since Elias had never installed elevators that went all the way up as a way of discouraging people from visiting him unnecessarily. “I’ve been having these- dreams. Or nightmares, really. I don’t really understand it, but I have nightmares of the things I read from the statements. Well, not all of the statements, but a handful of them. I think the ones that have been shared with me in person are the only ones I dream about. But sometimes I get a reprieve from those horrors, and when I do, is because I dream about strange things. Not scary things, but weird.”

“Weird how?” Elias prompted when Jon seemed reluctant to continue.

Jon sighed. “Weird like… historical? A world that looks like something straight out of a history documentary. And I’m there, only I look so young, even though I’ve always looked older than I am. I’m there, but I’m not the Head Archivist, I’m a doctor, I think. I travel all around the world and help people in the wake of being affected by supernatural phenomenon. And I go home sometimes, to this big house with a beautiful library and-” his face went slightly pink. “And I’ve seen the giant painting in the entrance of the building, of course I have. So I know who else is waiting for me at home in these rare dreams. It’s Jonah Magnus.”

Elias breathed out, and felt as though he’d just been given permission to breathe after holding his breath for the past five years. “Oh Jon…” Of course Elias had known all this time that Jon Sims had to be the same Jon that he had once lost, because why else would they look the same (other than their ages), and act the same, and talk the same way? But until this moment, Elias had never actually had any proof of the connection. And now that he did, he felt happier than he had in a very long time.  
,,,

Jonah searched everywhere, but he was never able to find any sign of Jonathan. He threw himself into working on the Watcher’s Crown. It was more important than ever that he complete it, because it would surely grant him the power to find his Jonathan again. 

The years passed so torturously slowly as Jonah waited for the dread of the prisoners to fill Millbank enough to make it useable. He was an old man by the time he was ready to attempt the ritual, and by then he had probably had Jonathan in his life for just as long as he hadn’t. 

As he took his seat and prepared himself to complete the ritual, he silently begged for it to work, so that the Eye could show him what had happened to Jonathan. Then ritual failed, and everyone died. But Jonah found that he could suddenly See everything, and he immediately looked for Jonathan. But no matter how much he strained himself, he could not find Jonathan anywhere. 

In the vessel that he chose for himself to extend his life, he returned to the Institute. It seemed more than likely that he would never see Jonathan again, but at least figuring out a way to succeed at a ritual was something within his power to do. But no matter how much time passed, he found that he could never truly forget about Jonathan. And he knew that if he did ever learn what had happened, whoever was responsible would have hell to pay.  
,,,

Elias got up from his desk and slowly made his way over to Jon, not wanting the other man to feel as though he were being approached by a predator. The last thing he wanted was for Jon to run away, not after that confession. Even if Jon still didn’t understand why it mattered, it was important to Elias. “How long have you been having these dreams?”

“The nightmares- most of them- started a little while after my promotion. The other dreams, well. I feel like I’ve had them before, but I don’t remember a time where I actually might have. I don’t understand it.”

Elias wanted nothing more than to pull Jon into a hug, but he knew that it wouldn’t be an accepted gesture, at least not yet. So he settled for speaking in a soft, comforting voice. “It’s alright, Jon. You have nothing to be afraid of. I will make sure that they bring you no harm.” Then he stood there and waited, hoping that Jon would come to him.

Perhaps it was still too soon, though, because Jon just nodded a few times, and then slowly shuffled backwards, out the open door. “Yeah, I ah- I appreciate it. Thanks for listening to me.” Then he hurried off like he was being chased, and Elias wondered if the Hunt had gotten to him, because he found himself desperately wanting to give pursuit. He had better control of himself than that, though, and he returned to his desk to ponder what all of this actually meant.  
,,,

Jonah watched his Institute grow, and watched the progress of his chosen Archivist. They had shown some potential, but at the rate in which they chose to cower away from danger, they would never be marked by all of the fears. So Jonah got rid of them and moved on to the next one. He could not let himself care, not if he wanted to be able to continue on.  
,,,

There was a tentative knock on Elias’ office door, and he called out for Martin to enter. He could tell that Martin was very distressed about something, though Elias had been too caught up in other matters to See what the latest drama down in the archives had been. It must have been something bigger than usual, though, for Martin to come up here.

Martin hurried over to Elias’ desk, looking like a pent up ball of nervous energy. “Martin. To what do I owe the-”

“Jon’s gone!” Martin interrupted. 

Elias didn’t even have time to get annoyed by the disruption, because all he could hear were those two little words bouncing around in his head. And he remembered two hundred years ago, what it felt like to lose his Jonathan. Even if Jon had not connected with Elias in the same way, Elias couldn’t imagine ever caring about anyone else the same way he cared about Jon, or Jonathan, or whoever he was. “What?”

Martin shifted on his feet and fidgeted with his hands. “He found a statement that he asked Tim to look into, but he and Tim haven’t been getting along very well recently, and Tim told him to look into it himself if it was so important, since he ‘clearly can’t trust his assistants anyways’. Jon left in a huff and said he would do just that, and that was yesterday morning, and he never came into work today, so Sasha and I went to investigate for ourselves, but there was no sign of Jon anywhere. We tried calling him but there was no answer, and he wasn’t at his flat, and I don’t know where else to look,” Martin rambled on.

Normally Elias might try to pretend to offer comfort to the clearly distraught man, but it would be too difficult a thing to do when Elias was distraught as well. He refused to lose Jon for a second time. “Where did he go?”

“105 Hilltop Road, in, in Oxford. We’ve found a few different statements that involve that house and-”

Elias held his hand up to stop Martin from talking. “Thank you for bringing this to me. I will look into the matter immediately.” Martin looked so miserable, and any other time Elias might relish that (since he still felt occasional bouts of jealousy in regards to the pathetic assistant), but Elias could take no joy in this situation. He ushered Martin out of his office, and then immediately Looked everywhere. He knew he wouldn’t be able to See Jon, but if there was anyone else around him then Elias could Watch through their eyes and figure out what was going on. But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t find a single sign of Jon anywhere. 

The Eye’s job was to observe and record, not to interfere, but Elias didn’t care about staying out of it when Jon clearly needed him, so he told Rosie to hold all his calls, and he headed directly to the location. As soon as he got there, he could feel the influence of multiple entities, and wondered just what kind of trouble Jon had gotten himself into. But no matter what it was, Elias was determined to find a way to fix it.  
,,,

Jon felt strangely unafraid as he woke up. All of his memories came back to him in an instant, though there was no pain from the flood. More than anything it felt fulfilling, an obtainment of knowledge. There was no strangeness to the fact that he had essentially lived two entirely separate lives; they felt more like one continuous line than anything. First he had been Jon Sims, then he had been Jonathan Fanshawe, and now he was Jon Sims again. Or maybe now he was both? Or maybe it just didn’t matter. He was himself, and it mattered that he knew that much at least. 

Jon left the house that he had woken up in, and looked around. He didn’t think he would ever take technology for granted again after living in the 1800s for so long. Nearly thirty years he had been there, and yet he didn’t feel like an old man. And he Knew that if he were to look into a mirror, he would look the same as he had before he’d been Jonathan Fanshawe, the man with a perpetual baby face. 

His first idea was to head to the Institute, but after looking at the cars lining the street, he realized that that would be a bad idea. Because those were definitely not cars from 2017. When he went close enough to look, he saw that most of the cars were reminiscent of the early 2000s. The house had not spit him back out at the right time. He now had nearly twenty years to stop some of the more awful things that were going to happen.

After giving it some serious consideration, Jon went to find Gertrude Robinson. He searched his pockets, and found money from three different time periods. He was able to find enough current coins to use a nearby payphone, and he typed in a number that he just Knew. 

“Hello?” 

Jon was not fooled in the slightest by the sweet old lady voice, especially since Gertrude couldn’t be older than sixty or so at this time. “Ms Robinson, I’m from the future, kinda, and the past, and I know about the rituals and your plans to stop them, and I know about the fourteen entities, and a lot of other things that maybe you don’t even know about. All I’m asking is for a chance to sit down and talk with you. Only, I uh, I don’t have any transportation at the moment, so I’d need you to pick me up.”

There was a long moment of silence, and then a short laugh from the other end. When Gertrude spoke, her voice had no hint of weakness in it. “And where are you, mysterious stranger?”

Jon glanced around to find the nearest street sign. “Hill Top Road. It’s uh, it’s a long story.”  
,,, 

By the time Jon finished explaining everything- or at least as close to everything as he felt comfortable with (Gertrude certainly didn’t need to know about Jon’s relationship with Jonah)- he leaned back in her uncomfortable couch. “So do you believe me?”

Gertrude gave him a long look. “I believe that in a world like ours, it would be foolish not to. There is, of course, one way for me to be sure. Is the story you just told me the truth?”

Jon could feel a slight tug in his chest that he didn’t understand. He did his best to ignore the feeling as he answered the question. “Yes, it is.”

Gertrude narrowed her eyes. “Hm. Well, we might both be the Archivist at the moment, but I’m certainly not giving you my paycheck. But what is it exactly that you do need of me?”

“I want to change the future, I think. I don’t want to interfere too much with my own life, but maybe once I’m working at the Institute, you could take me on as one of your assistants? It might stop me from being promoted to Head Archivist after you’re- well.”

Gertrude raised one eyebrow. “You don’t like the position?”

Jon shrugged. “I’m starting to think that it’s a lot more insidious than I ever would have thought.” He stood up, and stretched, pleased to note that none of his joints cracked the way they used to when he sat still for too long. “I should probably be on my way now.”

“On your way where?”

Jon blinked as he realized that he hadn’t even thought about it yet. “I suppose… I suppose I’ll need to lay low for a few years. There’s not exactly an opening for another Jonathan Sims at the moment.”

He turned to head back to the front door, when Gertrude spoke again. “You never told me how I die. Because I certainly don’t expect that I’ll be retiring off to the countryside.” Jon hesitated, and he could practically feel the way she rolled her eyes at him. “And don’t lie to me.”

Jon heaved out a long sigh, and spoke without turning to look at Gertrude. “You were shot- or you will be, I mean. Three times. But I don’t know who did it, or why. I was in the middle of trying to figure out when everything else happened.”

When there was no immediate response, he assumed that he had been dismissed, but as he put his hand on the doorknob, he was stopped once again. “You may know a lot about a lot of things, but you still know hardly anything about your own role in all of this. You have power, and if you want to change things you’ll need to get stronger. I’ll teach you,” she announced. “My home is protected thanks to some old allies, so if you stay here, you will not be Seen by Elias.” 

The way she spoke made it sound as though Jon had no choice in the matter, but honestly, it’s not as though he had anywhere else to go. And if he really did have some kind of power, then Gertrude was right about him needing to get stronger, considering he hadn’t even known he had any. “Oh, uh, alright.” He finally turned around to look at Gertrude again. “Thank you.”  
,,,

“I’m not sure what game Elias is playing. I asked about transferring you to the archives, and he was quite adamant about not allowing it. Why would he care about where a nobody like Jonathan Sims is placed?”

Jon narrowed his eyes but didn’t bother pointing out that that was offensive. “I don’t know. It might be something to look into, though.” He set down a plate in front of Gertrude with the dinner that he’d cooked. Since he was living off of her good will, he’d taken to doing all the cooking and cleaning around the house over the past decade or so. “Listen, I’ve been thinking… it might be time for me to move on. Now that my younger self is working at the Institute, it won’t be long until things start changing.”

“Just don’t get yourself killed,” Gertrude told him in the tone of hers that meant she was trying to disguise how emotional she felt. “I’d tell you not to do anything too stupid, but we both know that there’s no force on this planet that can stop you from that.”

Jon laughed. “Yeah, I can be a bit reckless.”

Gertrude raised one eyebrow. “A bit? Need I remind you of the African-”

“Yes, well, quite enough of that,” Jon quickly interrupted. He leaned over to kiss Gertrude’s cheek, and then danced away before she could swat him for it. “Take care of yourself, too.” He wanted to say that nothing had to be inevitable, but knew that Gertrude wasn’t the type to appreciate empty platitudes. “Let’s say two months, and then I’ll go.”

Gertrude sighed. “Well, at least it means I won’t have to worry about you trying to poison me anymore.” Jon laughed at the reminder. When he’d first taken up cooking, it had definitely not been a natural talent of his, and Gertrude had never been shy about criticizing what he served her. 

Jon was sure that he was going to miss Gertrude when she was gone. Living with her had been nice, and in a lot of ways had reminded him of his childhood, and growing up with his grandmother. It was strange to think that the first time he’d gotten the news of her death, he hadn’t thought about it for much more than to say that it was a tragedy, and then he’d quickly moved on with his life. It seemed as though time was capable of changing just about everything.  
,,,

It had been nearly six months since Jon had gone missing, and Elias knew that he would have to choose a new Archivist soon. He kept telling himself that he would get around to it soon, but he just didn’t want to. Martin had already been touched by the Corruption and the Web, so it wouldn’t be too difficult to get him marked by the others as well, but Elias just couldn’t find it within himself to give Jon’s position away to anyone else. 

There was a knock at Elias’ office door, and he was about to call out for whoever it was to come in, when he realized that he didn’t know. He couldn’t See who was out there. Elias’ eyes widened, and his heart began beating just a bit faster as the unfamiliar sensation of hope washed through him. “Come in!”

The door opened, and in stepped Jon. For several long seconds, Elias thought that it might actually be the Jonathan of old, because he looked so much younger than Elias had ever known Jon to look. 

Jon marched over to Elias’ desk, and slapped his hand down on it with more force than necessary. “Who are you really?” Jon demanded, and it was immediately clear that he knew exactly what he was doing. 

Elias was not prepared for the compulsion, and the answer slipped out before he could consciously stop it. An answer that could ruin everything. “Jonah Magnus,” he breathed. He couldn’t help feeling proud of Jon’s progress, even if he wasn’t sure what had happened to encourage it. “Where have you been?” He could not compel Jon to answer, but he could hope that Jon would be willing to reciprocate information.

There was a pause as Jon blinked a couple of times, and then he suddenly looked unbearably tired. “I think you know, Jonah.” The way he said it was so familiar that it made Elias’ chest ache. “I was with you, or don’t you recall?”

“How?”

Jon shrugged. “You’re over two hundred years old and you still think to question how anything could be possible?” He slowly walked around the desk, and Elias stood before he even thought about it, hoping for an embrace. He was quite startled when he got a slap across the face instead. “You lied to me,” Jon growled. “You swore to me that you weren’t going to do that stupid ritual.” His voice sounded ragged. 

If there had been any doubts in Elias’ mind about whether this was really his Jon, they were gone now. “I’m sorry. I- I have to know, Jon. Did you ever even make it to von Closen? What happened to you?”

Jon gave him a long look. “I’m surprised you don’t already Know. I thought you knew everything.”

“You’ve always been too damn good at being an exception to all of my rules.”

Jon let out a soft laugh at that before answering. “I did get to Albrecht. But he was already so far gone by the time I got there, he was dead within days. I asked to do an autopsy on the body, and one moment I was looking down at the inside of a human corpse covered in thousands of eyes, and the next moment I was waking up in 2001 in the same place that I left from in 2017. It was quite the shock, especially since I wasn’t an amnesiac this time.”

Elias let out a long breath as he looked at Jon. The same Jon who had been with him back before either of them knew any of the real horrors of the world. The same Jon who had loved him enough to take his name, even if he’d never said the words out loud. “I’m still going to go through with it all,” Elias warned, though he was unsure of how much Jon actually knew.

Jon gave him a big grin, the kind that Elias had missed so much. “I’m still going to stop you.” 

Then they both moved forward at the same time, until they were kissing like there would be no tomorrow for them. Hell, for all Elias knew maybe there wouldn’t be. But it didn’t matter. All that mattered was that they were together again, after all the years they’d been apart. And Elias swore to himself that he was never going to let go of Jon again.


End file.
